House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2011, with 47% of the vote.
Questions on the Order Paper September 18th, 2006
With regard to the changes in the Solvency Funding Relief Regulations of the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985, what is the mechanism that will be used to determine when less than one third of the members object to a move to ten-year solvency funding (6.2(a)) under the new ten-year funding rules?
Canada Pension Plan June 20th, 2006
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-336, An Act to amend the Canada Pension Plan (arrears of benefits).
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce legislation today that would allow for full retroactive payments plus interest when someone applies for benefits under the Canada pension plan.
The CPP is a pay-as-you-go contribution based program that is funded solely by employers and employees. It is absurd that a person who is late in applying for his or her pension under the CPP is only entitled to 11 months of retroactive benefits. It is not the government's money.
The bill would put an end to this insufficient and unfair period of retroactivity and would do the same for disability pensions, a survivor's pension and a disabled contributor's child benefit. This is something that should and could have been done long ago. In fact, my colleague, the member for Sault Ste. Marie, championed similar legislation in the last Parliament.
I urge all members not to wait any longer and support this important improvement to the income security of Canadian seniors.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Business of Supply June 15th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, in the interest of ensuring we get support from all sides of the House to push forward the agenda on seniors, I accept the amendment.
Business of Supply June 15th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I certainly agree that health care is a huge issue for seniors right across this country. The focus on waiting lists was welcomed by seniors, but they want more than just the rhetoric of a commitment. They want the waiting lists go down. They want access to health care services when they need them.
What figures into that is in communities like mine on Hamilton Mountain, there is still a huge waiting list not just for surgeries, but actually for primary care physicians. There is a huge shortage of doctors in my community. Primary care physicians are needed or people cannot get the referrals for surgeons which the member just talked about.
Similarly with respect to home care, home care is not covered by the Canada Health Act. It ought to be. People should have access to home care. Not only does it allow seniors to live in their homes longer, it also means that acute care beds are freed up.
All of these things are integral to a holistic approach to health care. For the government to focus only on wait times for surgeries is not the solution. It is not what seniors are looking for. I wonder if the member could comment on what we are going to do to address in a meaningful way the shortage of doctors in our communities.
Business of Supply June 15th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's enthusiasm in standing up for her constituents in Quebec. I, though, want to stand up with equal enthusiasm for my constituents of Hamilton Mountain but, frankly, seniors issues are issues right across the country.
I think the member would probably agree that seniors across the nation are far worse off now than they were 13 years ago. Access to health care and to home care have been diminished. We used to have a national housing strategy but we no longer have that. What about seniors' economic security through GIS, through indexing or the lack of indexing of OAS? People are suffering in our communities.
We in the rest of Canada do have something to learn from Quebec. I wonder if the member could perhaps speak to her colleagues on the government side about the real inequality we have with respect to CPP as opposed to QPP. When seniors in the rest of Canada delay their applications for the Canada pension plan, they have 11 months of retroactivity to recover their pension money. This is not the government's money. This is money that went into the pension plan from employers and employees. Under the QPP system the retroactive period is five years.
I think Canadians and Canadian seniors deserve--
Business of Supply June 15th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I welcome the parliamentary secretary's participation in this debate.
I have a specific concern about one area where I have not seen much progress and which is of huge concern to seniors in my community. As the minister will know, when people are eligible for the GIS, they actually have to apply to get that benefit. For many seniors in my community, in the first instance they may not be aware that they need to apply. They often are not aware that they need to reapply. Language and other things are barriers.
Yet, we have a system in place for this very fundamental income support where seniors can only claim retroactively for 11 months. This is a huge disadvantage for seniors, not just in my community of Hamilton Mountain but right across the country.
Similarly, if someone is late applying for their Canada pension plan benefit, they can only claim that retroactively for 11 months. This is not the government's money. CPP is being contributed to by employers and employees. That retroactivity of 11 months is outrageous.
Can the minister let me know what her government thinks about addressing those very real concerns about our income support system that could make an immediate difference for seniors in my community today?
Business of Supply June 15th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his commitment to doing everything he can to eradicate elder abuse.
This is a crime that has often been called “the hidden crime” in Canada because so many elderly people are afraid to report when they have been the subject of neglect or abuse. Oftentimes that actually may happen at the hands of family members. There is a fear a reprisals and a fear of consequences. In fact, sometimes there is a sense of shame, among seniors. This is an issue that we need to address.
I asked the Minister of Canadian Heritage whether we could proclaim, as a first step in raising awareness on this issue, today national elder abuse awareness day. Unfortunately, that request was declined. I am still optimistic that as members of the House, we can work jointly to make that happen before the end of today.
Business of Supply June 15th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I do not think anybody in this House would disagree that provinces would not benefit hugely from additional transfers from the federal government. In fact, there has been significant underfunding for the last 13 years. In part, that is what this motion is trying to redress.
While I appreciate that the member is suggesting that all the surplus money should go into Quebec, I would suggest there are other members in this House who think we should share the wealth and actually create universality of programs right across the country. That is what this motion would intend to do.
Seniors in every part of this country have a right to decent health care, lifelong learning, affordable housing, income security, and that would be the purpose of this charter.
Business of Supply June 15th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, we have costed out most of the aspects of our proposed seniors charter. Obviously this charter is a statement of principle. It engages in six particular areas. There are elements, for example, the free dental care, the free prescription drugs, the national housing strategy, all of which we have costed out. In terms of implementing all of the specifics of the principles, obviously that would be up to the government to decide as it would have to take primary responsibility for the implementation.
Business of Supply June 15th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I certainly understand some of the difficulties in our country when jurisdiction for things like health care is actually divided between the provincial and the federal governments, but we do have a Canada Health Act. Canadians do have a right to access to health care, the same in St. John's, Newfoundland as in Victoria, B.C. We should not have two standards of care anywhere in our country.
Canadians do not want us to engage in finger pointing saying that it is the responsibility of the provincial government and we do not need to do anything, or it is the responsibility of the federal government. Seniors deserve more than for us to pass the buck. We need to take responsibility. We were elected to this House to address the concerns of our constituents and it is not good enough to say that this is provincial responsibility. We have a role, we have it through the Canada Health Act.
We have a ton of opportunities to make a meaningful difference in the lives of seniors. I want us to seize that opportunity and run with it today.